Neil Hulme

[Wurzel]

Happy New Year to you too Neil You had a much better start than me from the sounds of it as all I got were some (probable) Winter Moths in the headlights on the way home Have a great 2019!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks, Wurzel. Nowt wrong with Winter Moths; we'll take anything at this time of year. I always associate them with the torch-lit trudge back to the car, after finishing 'fire watch' at mid winter work parties.
BWs, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Arundel Butterfly Talk

All welcome.

[trevor]

.......... and maybe make some comments about the route(s) of the proposed bypass.

The very best for 2019.

Trevor.

[David M]

My 2019 butterfly season got off to a flying start today, with a Red Admiral seen in my central Worthing back garden…

That’s set an unbeatable yardstick, Neil! Well done. Hopefully it is a positive sign for the year ahead.

Let me take this opportunity to wish you all the best with your conservation work this winter, which I trust will provide optimum conditions for the target species in 2019.

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks, David. I haven't had time to post much news this year, but there's been plenty going on behind the scenes.
BWs, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Rejuvenation Of The BC Park Corner Heath Reserve

Many thanks to all who attended the penultimate BC volunteer work party of the winter at Park Corner Heath on Sunday (10 February). We had a great turn-out and made further progress in clearing the lower levels of the reserve behind 'Peter's Seat', which had become over-run with scrub and small trees.

Over the winter we have reclaimed a large area of lowland heath, greatly extending the rejuvenated habitat created over the plateau above. We also cut a few 'windows' through the scrub/tree-line separating these two areas, increasing the connectivity between them.

A good turn-out for our last event on Sunday 10 March should see this work completed and it will be an opportunity to celebrate all we've achieved over the winter. The butterflies clearly showed their appreciation of our efforts last summer, but I suspect this was just a taste of things to come.

[Neil Hulme]

Fritillaries For The Future Continues

Yesterday (15 February) I had an entire day free, so headed out to look at progress on a couple of projects. I started off in a private part of the woods at Small Dole, where a joint project involving the owners (Pete and Sally), BC (Fritillaries for the Future), South Downs National Park Authority (supported by the Volunteer Ranger Service) and Petra Billings (Consultant), is now under full steam.

Our contractor, Graham West (Weald Woodsman) and associate are bringing 1.5 hectares of overstood (unmanaged/overgrown) hazel coppice back into cycle, by cutting one third over each of the next three years, after which it will be managed by volunteers as six coupes (compartments) to produce hedge-laying materials for use in the National Park.

As each one third of the coppice is initially cut to ground level, the standards (large individual trees) are being thinned out, to allow more light to reach the woodland floor. This will improve the growth rate and quality of the regenerating hazel, improve the ground flora, and greatly improve the habitat for woodland butterflies and other wildlife.

Most of the trees being removed are Ash (which will inevitably succumb to 'die-back'), while the majority of oaks are being retained, particularly those which have been identified as having potential for bats, during an ongoing survey.

When I visited, the felling of standards had almost been completed, and the once-closed canopy was allowing the sunshine to flood through to the previously dark and floristically barren woodland floor. By reinstating traditional management practices (both hazel coppice and standards would traditionally have been harvested, on short and longer cycles respectively), this exciting project will bring sustainable benefits for a wealth of wildlife long into the future.

Graham reported seeing a Holly Blue the previous day (14 February), which although not a national first, is a 2019 first for Sussex.

I later moved on to Rewell Wood, seeing a Brimstone en route (Amberley Station), and Brimstone, Peacock and Red Admiral at my destination. Having walked over areas managed by the Norfolk Estate, SDNPA/BC, Plumpton College, the resident woodsman and commercial contractor, I suspect we'll be seeing very good numbers of Pearl-bordered Fritillary this year.

[Wurzel]

Looking really good there Neil Good to see another person of the mark

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Jack Harrison]

Good to see another person of the mark

Is that the Left Hind Mark? (Guess what book I have just been reading - again!)

To be a little more serious: spell checkers are all very well but they don't pick up context. OF was clearly a typo for OFF.

Is there such a thing as a good SENSE checker?

Jack

[Neil Hulme]

Red Admirals And Hedgelaying

I saw two Red Admirals in warm sunshine at Lee Farm (near Patching, West Sussex) today (17 February), but the real interest for me was the annual South of England hedgelaying contest. It's great to see this traditional craft being practised, particularly with some of the best on show.

[David M]

I guessed given your absence that you had been abnormally busy, Neil, and I wasn't disappointed!

Some lovely out-of-season habitat shots, and that hedge-cutting art is something to be in awe of. Glad to see some folk still know how to perfect it!

[Neil Hulme]

Angmering Park Coppicing

Many thanks to Chris Letchford (Sussex and Surrey Coppice Group), Paul Day (BC Sussex) and Simon Mockford (National Park Ranger) for all their hard work in cutting the third coupe of hazel coppice (in a new eight coupe cycle) on the Angmering Park Estate (near Arundel). This project, which will continue the legacy of Fritillaries for the Future, will create top quality habitat for the Pearl-bordered Fritillary and many other woodland species.

[David M]

That's beautiful looking habitat, Neil.

Is Angmering Park a public access site?

[Neil Hulme]

Hi David
There are some PRoWs across the area, but at this stage I'm keeping the exact location quiet (no PBF yet, but I hope that they'll colonise naturally), to allow quiet enjoyment of the site by those who are doing all the hard graft. It's early days in terms of building a relationship with the estate, so it's a case of 'softly, softly' for now.
BWs, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

First Tort And Speckly

Yesterday (24 February) I had hoped to join the Graffham Down Trust for a work party, but other commitments did at least give me a two hour window to get out later in the day. A brief visit to Ferring Rife produced my first Small Tortoiseshell of the year (they are only just waking up here), a Brimstone, three Peacock and a couple of female Red Admiral, both of which were egg-laying.

I bumped into Vince Massimo, who was on a similar mission and making his first visit to this great early season venue. Vince will be rearing a few of the Red Admiral eggs in captivity. I have seen Red Admirals egg-laying as early as 22 February this year and I suspect that at least some of these individuals are over-wintered females (rather than recent immigrants).

As we walked, Vince flushed a weakly-flying butterfly from the grass - our first Speckled Wood of the year.

[David M]

First Tort And Speckly...As we walked, Vince flushed a weakly-flying butterfly from the grass - our first Speckled Wood of the year.

Amazing to see a February Specklie, Neil. Can you now conjure us a Large Tortoiseshell?

[Neil Hulme]

Hi David, I'll see what I can do, but I might cheat a little.
BWs, Neil

[Neil Hulme]

Tout Tortoiseshell

I had already arranged to meet Pete for a long overdue catch-up on Wednesday (27 February), with the original idea being to show him some of the Fritillaries for the Future habitat work performed over the last few years in Sussex. However, Pete had just noticed that the published images of the Large Tortoiseshell at Tout Quarry (Portland) clearly showed the presence of two individuals. A quick change of venue was inevitable.

We searched without luck throughout the morning, with only Peacocks, Humming-bird Hawk-moths and the odd Small Tortoiseshell to show for our efforts. In retrospect, our mistake was to focus our search on the areas where previous sightings had been made - at least those reported on social media. It was only after midday that I managed a brief sighting, when I wandered across the central part of the quarry; all of a sudden a Large Tortoiseshell was gliding close to my shoulder, before being attacked and driven off over a ridge of boulders by a Peacock (this inter-species violence was to become a common theme). By the time Pete had joined me the tortoiseshell had disappeared, and as we climbed over the ridge we came across a small group of enthusiasts asking for an ID confirmation based on the images they had taken only a minute or two before (it was).

There then followed a frustrating period of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, while hearing regular reports of others being in the right place at the right time. The number of visitors was now swelling and it was great to see that everyone was doing their best to help others connect with the butterfly, with several locals going the extra mile.

Unfortunately, Pete had to take an extended 'phone call at 2 pm, just as the Large Tortoiseshell (the better of the two specimens seen the previous day) started to perform really well. I felt really frustrated for Pete, who I could see attending to business on the horizon, just as the butterfly floated around my knee.

Things then just got better and better, before the butterfly finally headed off to roost shortly after 4.30 pm. By now there was a network of observers tracking its every movement as it glided around the mini-ravines of the quarry. This wasn't the right scenario to risk any close approaches, so all of the images I took were at extreme zoom range for an antique bridge camera (those with DSLRs and 400 mm lenses made hay), but I was more than happy with a few nice context shots. The real pleasure was, of course, just observing this magnificent creature; a richly coloured example in superb condition.

Congratulations to the finder(s), to Mike Gibbons for his image (I nearly fell off my perch when I first I saw it), and thanks to the 'spotters' who did their best to ensure everyone got a piece of the action. What a start to the season!

[bugboy]

Great stuff Neil, any thoughts as to whether this is likely to be a recent arrival from the near continent or whether it overwintered on our shores?